


Taking Care

by evilsexdemon



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Regeneration, Self-Harm, Self-Indulgent, Suicide Attempt, it's just kind of a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 09:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13315278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilsexdemon/pseuds/evilsexdemon
Summary: The Doctor didn’t seem impressed. He stared at her eyes, and she stared back, squinting, trying to see which emotion this was. He looked bored. Brilliant. Someone to relate to. She leaned in close to him, and whispered,“and I want a kiss.”The Doctor coughed, and took a step back, shaking his head. Missy let out a high pitched laugh. “Totally got you. No, really. Just those first three will do.”The Doctor visits Missy, and they relive their youth. A rather.. traumatic aspect of it, that is.





	Taking Care

**Author's Note:**

> Uh. I don't own Doctor Who, and English isn't my first language. Still hope I'll do decent, though. Hope you enjoy, I know I enjoyed writing it!

“I’m bored.” 

Missy sat in the corner of her room, her vault, back of her head against the wall. Again, louder.

“I’m bored! And I know you’re out there, listening, so let’s skip all this, then.” 

Silence, for a few seconds. Then, tentatively, the door to the vault opened. It creaked. The Doctor came in. first one leg, then the other. He was on his tiptoes. Ridiculous. As if he didn’t want to wake her. Even though she’d just called out to him.

“Ah, Doctor.” She stood up and began making her way towards her fellow Time Lord, but he stuck an arm out, signalling her to stop. She immediately did, and the smile on her face faded. “What is it?” 

He breathed, and then slowly lowered his hand. Missy furrowed her brow. “Afraid of me? I wouldn’t hurt you. You’re my dearest friend, after all.” 

-

Theta was running. He wasn’t running from anything as he usually did, but he was running towards something. Someone, rather. His friend. His friend’s house. 

Theta’s best friend, Koschei, wasn’t the healthiest person around. He used to be okay, but as he grew older, he became more sickly. He didn’t want to eat, didn’t sleep. All he did was draw, and write, and stare at the wall. And scream. But only if there was nobody around. Or he thought there was nobody around. Theta could be very quiet. 

Today, Theta was running. He always went to see his friend before school. Just dropping in to say hi, ask if he needed anything (he didn’t) ask how it was going (badly) and if the drums were any less loud (they weren’t). But today, Theta had woken up late, and he hadn’t had the time to visit before school. School had just finished, and Theta was hoping Koschei wouldn’t be cross with him. Koschei used to go to school with him. He used to be a very brilliant student, in fact. But now, he couldn’t muster up the energy to go there, not even on the good days. But Theta was loyal. He kept visiting. Every day. 

-

“No, no. Nothing like that.” The doctor said, smiling. Missy perked up, and made her way over to him. “Well, in that case, I have some more requests.” 

__

“First of all, I want a drawing pad. And some pencils. And I want a pony.” 

The Doctor didn’t seem impressed. He stared at her eyes, and she stared back, squinting, trying to see which emotion this was. He looked bored. Brilliant. Someone to relate to. She leaned in close to him, and whispered,

“and I want a kiss.” 

The Doctor coughed, and took a step back, shaking his head. Missy let out a high pitched laugh. “Totally got you. No, really. Just those first three will do.” 

It was The Doctor’s turn to laugh. A full on chuckle. To be quite honest, it was a bit terrifying. “No, Missy.. that’s not it. You..” he wrinkled his nose. “You.. well. When was the last time you showered?”

Missy rolled her eyes and groaned. 

-

Theta ran up the stairs, all the way to the third floor. Koschei’s mum and dad were out, but even if they had been around, they wouldn’t have looked up when the boy came storming in. There, on the third floor, he took a few deep breaths and opened the door to Koschei’s room. Well, tried to, anyway. The room was locked. 

This was definitely out of the ordinary. He always kept it unlocked, so his parents could bring him food, so his homeschooling teacher could come in. So Theta could come in, even in the rare cases where he was asleep, and sit on his desk chair and look at the new drawings his friend had made.

Theta knocked on the door. “Kosch? It’s me! Sorry I didn’t come this morning. I overslept, and..” he trailed off. No reaction on the other side. Again, weird. And there was no sign of his parents or his homeschooling teacher. 

-

“Guess I’ll take a bath, then. You’re welcome to watch.” Again with the one-liner. What’s a bit of flirting between old friends? 

Missy began taking off her coat, button by button. She threw it off onto the floor, right at The Doctor’s feet. He picked it up, folded It up and neatly put it down on the piano. When he turned back to Missy she had discarded her skirt and had already gone through the door of the Bathroom. She’d left it open. An invitation. She’d never been very.. ashamed, of her body. And besides, They were both so, so old. Older than time itself. They’d seen thousands of people naked. 

The Doctor slowly entered the bathroom, taking his time folding his fellow Time Lord’s clothes. She had other clothing, of course, but she seemed to prefer the purple dress and coat combo. He grabbed her shawl off the floor, bunched it up and held it to his chest. 

“Oh Doctor! The water is ever so warm.” Then, after a moment, “Come sit with me.” 

He went in after putting the shawl down, on top of the pile on the piano, and found Missy in the bath. She was naked, as people usually are when they take a bath, and she was covering up her breasts with her arms so the Doctor couldn’t… peek. She had her eyes closed and her head against the wall. Blissful, almost. Her legs were also pulled up against her stomach. The Doctor sat down on the edge of the bath, studying his friend. 

They had both changed so much, over the years. Yet she still trusted him. Missy shifted, looking at him from the corner of her eye, after which she reached one of her hands out to grab the shampoo from the soap dish. She turned to face the doctor. “Wash my hair for me?” 

“Of course.” The Doctor said, and Missy turned around to give him better access, with her back turned towards him. He untied the messy bun she was wearing, and grabbed the shower head. He put it on one of the softest settings available, checked the temperature, and started getting Missy’s hair wet.

-

“Kosch? This isn’t funny. Please let me in.” Theta urged. Again, no reply. Well, he thought there was no reply at first. But then he heard the softest of noises on the other side of the door. A.. whisper, couldn’t have been anything more than that. 

“What is it? Do I need to come in? Do I need to go away? Please, Koschei, you’re scaring me a bit, if I’m being honest. And.. and I understand if you’re cross with me for not visiting this morning, but please just let me in. We made potions at school today. Actual.. real life potions. I felt like a fairy tale character. Please let me show you.” Theta begged. He was rambling off, and he knew it, but he had the feeling in his gut that something was very, very wrong, and he needed to fix it.

“S.. shut up.” Came the whispered reply, through gritted teeth. Was Koschei in pain? Only one way to find out, Theta supposed. He took a few steps back and then ran toward the door with all his might. The door moved, but didn’t open. “Damn it!”

He charged again, and again the door creaked loudly, but didn’t open. Theta took a deep breath, took a few steps back, and once more ran against the door.

It swung open, revealing Koschei’s room, obviously more messy than usual. Papers were strewn about on the ground, drawings that weren’t good enough, homework, you name it. The desk chair was lying on the ground. All the lights were off, but the curtain was open. The most important part, though, was Koschei.

There was something wrong. Something very, very wrong. Theta’s friend was lying on his bed, eyes and mouth half open. Sweating. Wet hair. Pale. One of his sleeves was rolled up, revealing that his veins were unusually visible. And a wound, right on the vein. Koschei had injected himself with.. something. And whatever it was, it was killing him. 

-

“That feels good.” Missy said. Heavy lidded eyes, satisfied smile on her face. The Doctor had instructed her to hold the shower head as he put the shampoo into her hair. He massaged her scalp, carefully, methodically. Like an actual doctor, taking care of a patient. Missy supposed he was, in a way. Taking care of her. She closed her eyes and stretched out her arms, then, immediately realized her mistake.

The Doctor’s hands had stopped moving. The room was silent except for the water moving. 

“What is that?” The Doctor asked, softly. Signalling to her arms. The inside of her arms. Missy bit her lip and turned away from him, hands behind her back. The Doctor kept looking at her, that intense stare he could have in every single one of his regenerations. The water splashed as she moved. The Doctor’s jacket was getting wet. He ignored it.

“I said,” Missy begun, voice just the slightest bit shaky, “That I was getting bored. And you did nothing to help me.” 

“Missy.” It was a warning, a scolding.. he was angry. He didn’t understand. Missy kept her eyes shut and didn’t reply. Not at first, at least. She turned back to him, but didn’t dare look him in the eye.

Missy had obviously somehow found a sharp object of some sort, and had started to etch lines into her arms. Skin, of course, wasn’t meant to be used for this, so it wasn’t very clear what the drawing on her right arm was supposed to represent. On her left arm, however, it was much clearer. Maybe it was the fact that she was able to use her dominant hand with this one, but the Doctor could very well read his own name scratched into Missy’s soft skin. Not his real-real name, just.. DOCTOR. In all caps. A wave of nausea went through him. He felt responsible, and he hadn’t checked the vault for sharp objects, and now missy was hurt.

He didn’t go away. He washed the shampoo off his hands with the water in the bath and then reached out, sliding his hand over her neck so he could grab her jaw. Missy bit her lip. 

-

“What have you done, my friend?” Theta muttered as he rolled Koschei’s sleeve further up, as if that would make anything clearer. Koschei was coughing now, drool leaking out of the corner of his mouth. In any other circumstance, Theta would be disgusted. But he wasn’t. He was just very, very afraid. 

“Poison.” Koschei answered truthfully. Theta grimaced, looking around for the container it had been in. A half empty syringe, discarded on the floor next to the bed. He picked it up, and examined the liquid intensely. It must’ve been Gallifreyan. Koschei didn’t look like he was regenerating. Maybe it was especially to.. permanently kill a Time Lord. Theta didn’t like the idea of that, because it definitely meant that his dearest Koschei had inflicted this on himself, purposefully. That he wanted to die.  
“I can’t hear them anymore.” Koschei whispered, and laughed deliriously, as much as his weak body could handle it. It looked as if he were bursting at the seams. “You can’t hear what anymore?” Theta asked, before he shut his mouth. Of course. The drums.  
Theta hated that his friend, his only friend, really, wanted to die. And what he hated even more was that his only friend would probably never like him anymore after what he did next.

See, Time Lords are taught from youth how to handle dangerous equipment. They had to learn how to fly Tardises by entering into them by themselves, without a teacher, and were expected to make it home in time for tea. After they’d crossed the universe a few times, of course. Same thing was the case with alchemy. Potions. The materials they handled were extremely dangerous, and had the potential to kill anyone coming in contact with them. The teacher at the academy had said that the potion Theta had made was of good quality, but they hadn’t tested it out, of course.

It was made to force regeneration.

It was a weapon, in any case except this one. But right now, It could save his friend’s life. He’d get suspended from the academy for using a dangerous, untested potion on an unwilling subject, but he needed to try it. He needed to try to save his friend.  
So, Theta emptied the syringe and filled it with the potion he had wanted to show his friend previously. Koschei’s eyes were rolled back into his skull. Theta took a shaky breath and thrusted the syringe into Koschei’s arm and emptied it.

-

“I wanted a drawing pad. And pencils. Remember how I used to draw these… these portraits.. of you, and of our teachers.” Missy smiled, and finally dared to look up. 

“Of course I’ll get you a drawing pad. And the best- the best pencils in the universe. They’ll change colour depending on your mood, or-“

Missy smiled, and pulled The Doctor towards her only to give him a kiss. He lost his grip on the bath and fell in, the water going everywhere. Missy laughed while the Doctor attempted to get a grip on something. He found his grip, on her shoulder, while she lay in the bath still, with him towering over her. His knees clamping her legs together. His jacket, his pants, everything was soaked. 

“Missy.” Another warning. He tried to look serious, but could barely do it. Missy was laughing, still, and she pulled him down for another kiss. The fabric of his clothes was rough on her skin, but she didn’t mind. Missy was unusually affectionate today.

“So you’ll get me those things? And a pony?” Missy asked, laying back with her doctor on top of her. She didn’t care if he saw what she did to her arms. It was a gift for him, maybe. It was his name, after all. Her Doctor. Her caretaker.

“Really? What will you even do with a pony? Except.. get tired of it and kill it.” The Doctor’s nose wrinkled up in disgust. Missy made her best mock-offended face. “How dare you, Doctor! I would never!” 

The Doctor looked Missy in the eyes, intensely, and Leaned in real close again. With his lips almost touching her ear, he whispered “I’ll get you anything you want, my dear mistress.” In an overdone, gushy tone. He then pulled back. “But no living organisms. That’s just asking for trouble.” 

Later, when they’d dried off, and Missy was in bed, with both her arms bandaged up, the Doctor made her tell him where she got the sharp object (some sharp piece of the insides of the piano). He also made her promise to never do it again. She agreed, and he eventually left again, feeling confused, sad, but also.. giddy. Maybe it was the kisses. Maybe it was how they’d actually laughed together, even if it only was for a brief moment, without thinking about their awful past together. Missy was improving. He’d have to make a trip with the Tardis to get her the best pencils and paper he could find. 

-

Koschei’s clouded, milky eyes shot open again, and he had another coughing fit. Theta was breathing heavily and took a step back, afraid of what would happen next. His friend’s arms began to light up just the slightest bit of orange gold, and Theta could cry tears of relief. Shakily, His friend stood up, looking terrified at what his own body was doing. Theta backed into a corner, knowing how dangerous regeneration energy could be. The last thing he saw on Koschei’s first face was confusion and fear, before the light overtook him, and he regenerated.

**Author's Note:**

> oh lord. this is the most self indulgent thing i've ever written. 
> 
> anyways, please leave a comment or some kudos if you liked what you read! :)


End file.
